Antonio Silva
Antonio 'Bigfoot' Silva is a Brazilian heavyweight fighter. Strikeforce He most recently faced off against former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski, defeating him via dominant decision in perhaps the biggest win of his career. He was next set to face Sergei Kharitonov. Instead, the fight was called off and Silva was rumored to be given a title shot against champion Alistair Overeem. That fight fell through as well. Silva was then believed to next be set to face Fedor Emelianenko sometime possibly in January 2011. Instead, he was YET again changed to face debuting Valentijn Overeem, until -- you guessed it -- the fight was called off. The fight is back on for the same event that it was pulled off of. Nooo... just over a week before the fight, Overeem was forced to pull out of the fight due to an injury. There were talks of Ikuhisa Minowa replacing Overeem against Silva on under a week's notice. Instead, Mike Kyle stepped up to the plate. After a rocky first round in which Kyle dominated, Silva knocked Kyle out from mount in the second after a close anaconda choke attempt failed. Silva next faced Fedor Emelianenko finally, in the first round of the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament. He defeated Emelianenko via doctor stoppage due to a swollen eye between the second and third rounds, delivering Emelianenko's second straight loss and advancing in the tournament to the semi-final round. He was expected to face the winner of the bout between Fabricio Werdum and Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem. Instead, Overeem dropped out because of a contract dispute and he was replaced by undefeated wrestling prospect Dan Cormier. After agreeing to face Cormier, Antonio made a move to join Team Nogueira. Cormier proceeded to knock Silva out in the first round, shoving him out of the tournament and out of the Top 5 rankings. The UFC Silva was next rumored to make his UFC debut against former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez. After Velasquez was confirmed to be facing Frank Mir, Silva signed to make his UFC debut against former IFL heavyweight champion and Ultimate Fighter winner Roy Nelson at UFC 146. Mir soon stepped out to replace Alistair Overeem against UFC heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos and Silva stepped in to replace Mir, making his UFC debut against Cain Velasquez in May 2012. Velasquez beat Silva up to an extremely bloody first round TKO. Silva next faced undefeated prospect Travis Browne, handing Browne his own first loss via first round TKO. Silva next signed in November 2012 to face former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem in February 2013. Silva was dominated for two rounds before knocking an overly confident Overeem brutally unconscious in the fight's third round to earn Knockout of the Night honors. Fighting for the Title And After After the fight, Silva was handed a shot at the UFC heavyweight title in a rematch against champion Cain Velasquez. Velasquez knocked Silva out in just over a minute this time, despite Silva disputing referee Mario Yamasaki's stoppage. 'Bigfoot' Silva next called out light-heavyweight Thiago Silva for a grudge match, stating that he would cut down to fight Silva at a catchweight. The fight never materialized of course. 'Bigfoot' instead next signed to fight Pride veteran Mark Hunt in Australia. The two veterans went to war for twenty-five straight minutes in one of the greatest mixed martial arts fights of all time and certainly the greatest heavyweight mixed martial arts fight of all time. The judges declared that it was a majority draw which was greeted with uncustomary acclaim from fans and analysts. There was no loser in that bout. Unfortunately Silva tested positive for elevated testosterone a few weeks after the bout and was suspended by the athletic commission and stripped of his Fight of the Night bonus. The Downfall After coming off suspension and some health problems Silva signed in June 2014 to fight a rematch against former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski. Arlovski knocked out Silva in the first round. Silva next signed to fight former UFC heavyweight champion, suffering another first round knockout loss to Mir unfortunately. Silva next fought Soa Palelei, TKOing Palelei early in the second round to break the streak of knockout losses momentarily. Silva then signed to fight a rematch with Mark Hunt losing via a first round technical knockout. Silva next fought veteran Stefan Struve losing yet again via a first round knockout, this time in a mere sixteen seconds. It was Silva's fourth loss in his past five fights with all four of those losses coming by way of first round (T)KOs. Silva next fought fellow beleaguered veteran (and personal friend) Roy Nelson. Nelson knocked Silva out in the second round and subsequently Silva was cut from the UFC. Outside the UFC Silva wasted no time, signing to fight Ivan Shtyrkov in Russia and unfortunately losing a unanimous decision to Shtyrkov. Silva then fought former Bellator heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov in the EFN, losing to Minakov via second round knockout. It was Silva's fifth consecutive loss, four of which came by way of knockout. Fights *Antonio Silva vs. Ruben Villareal *Antonio Silva vs. Tom Erikson *Antonio Silva vs. Georgy Kaysinov *Eric Pele vs. Antonio Silva - The fight was Silva's first loss. *Antonio Silva vs. Wesley Correira - The fight was Silva's EliteXC debut. *Yoshihiro Nakao vs. Antonio Silva - The fight was for Sengoku. Yoshihiro Nakao suffered a knee injury in the bout's first round and was forced to submit for a TKO loss. *Fabricio Werdum vs. Antonio Silva - The fight was Silva's Strikeforce debut and it was only his second loss. *Antonio Silva vs. Andrei Arlovski *Antonio Silva vs. Mike Kyle - Mike Kyle replaced an injured Valentijn Overeem on less than a week's notice. *Antonio Silva vs. Fedor Emelianenko - The fight was in the quarterfinals of the Strikeforce heavyweight tournament. After the bout, Fedor Emelianenko contemplated retirement. *Antonio Silva vs. Travis Browne -Travis Browne came into the fight undefeated and it was his first loss. *Frank Mir vs. Antonio Silva *Antonio Silva vs. Soa Palelei *Mark Hunt vs. Antonio Silva 2 *Stefan Struve vs. Antonio Silva Category:Heavyweight fighters